Armory STL, an iconic bar and nighttime entertainment center in Midtown St. Louis, has announced plans to close down. The 3660 Market Street venue took to Instagram on Wednesday, September 25, revealing it was ceasing operations temporarily due to funding issues.
According to the announcement, the venue, which opened in December 2022, was still in its first phase. It was envisioned to include a rooftop beer garden and a large lower level for entertainment. These additional phases were supposed to be built with funding from the landlord, who reportedly financed only a fraction of the project.
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These unexpected events left Armory STL in an incomplete state, and the business is now struggling with debt. The establishment plans to restructure the project before reopening and is reportedly attempting to secure additional funding.
The letter announcing the closure features Jimmy Smith, COO of Armory STL, explaining the issues. It reads:
“The first phase that we opened was never meant to live on its own. Even if we could have added just the rooftop, this whole picture would be different. What we had planned up there was amazing.”
Speaking to St. Louis Public Radio on September 25, Jacob Miller, the creator of the entertainment venue concept, reassured people they would return soon, saying:
“We're going to get this thing going again. I love the building, and I love the city, so there's a lot of motivation to fix this.”
All you need to know about the closure of Armory STL in St. Louis
The doors to Armory STL were last open to the general public on Monday, September 23. While the business operated for a private event on Tuesday, September 24, the establishment was only open for select invited guests.
Hours after the nighttime event, First Alert 4 reported that employees of the establishment claimed to have received messages about the closure. The official announcement from the venue followed shortly after.
The business, owned by Green Street Real Estate Ventures, employs roughly 100 staff members, all of whom are expected to be affected by the closure. As of this writing, neither the establishment nor the parent company has mentioned any plans to assist the now-unemployed workers.
Talking to First Alert 4 about the affected workers on September 24, Jacob Miller said:
“I got a lot of phone calls from people asking ‘what are we going to do? A lot of people depended on this as a primary job a lot of people had kids, and now they’re just kind of lost.”
According to First Alert 4, the St. Louis Mayor’s office has not yet received the legally mandated notice from Armory STL indicating a permanent closure. If the business closes permanently, the mayor’s office plans to assist the affected employees with local employment opportunities.
While the nighttime bar claims to have shut down temporarily, no specific dates or time frames for reopening have been confirmed.
The building housing Armory STL is located on the 3600 block of Market Street in St. Louis and previously served as the 138th Infantry Missouri National Guard Armory.
The entertainment venue featured 250,000 square feet of indoor space and boasted a 500-foot bar with 90 taps. The lavish venue was also equipped with a two-story slide, six 30-foot LED screens, and at least 40 interactive games.
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